Drag hook



Dec. 25, 1951 K, M RQQKER 2,579,864

DRAG HOOK Filed May 51, 1949 Zvi/gam?? mvg/Wm; @www Wizfmy @W www d. @M WWMEW shwingonly the connec'tin line 2-'-2 of Fig. 1'.

Patented Dec. 25, 1951 AUNI#ifs-13 TIES merged objects which means caiifbeeasily and kquickly submerged and surfaced.`

Astur further bbiect'of this invntioiis "to pro'- xvide a draghook designed for'di's'covering submerged objects that canl be easily 'nian'euvered laterally along the bottom of a body of Water and thus covering moreare'ain anygiventi'meand "therefore 'facuitatig 'thedi'scovfy of the object sought.

, isdn fvurther-objectj0f' this niveetionintoprovide l'a means for vrecovering submerged objects thatis easily adjustable so 'as to becapabie of securing a hold' `o`n said object vWhether4 it be'r'estngori the bottom of `a bdyof `Water orp'rt'aliy "embedded therein.

"A s till furtherobject of this invention'is to provide a means for -discovering and recovering submerged objects that' can "be 'operated either from the surface of a body of water or at a distance therefrom.

.These andother objects'will be apparent to those skilled in thteart.

My invention consists in the 4"constructien,'arrangement, and combination of the various parts of thedevice, whereby the objects contemplated are vattained as hereinafter"moresfullyiset forth,

pointed out in my" claims,V and' illustrated the "accompanying" drawings, in which:

`Fig. (1 isa perspective `view"` O'f'this device but g portion of thehandle member. r f

[,Fig. 2 isf'a side 'viewofths device taken from Fig. 3l is"a` sidemviewof theseetionai handlfor this device shown in a position in extension of Fig. 1 with the lower dotted lines showing adjustable position of the main portion of this device.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View of the handle of this device taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-longitudinal view of a section joint of the handle of this device taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

The discovery and recovery of submerged objects and particularly dead bodies is usually attempted by means of grappling hooks. These hooks can be dragged along the bottom but cannot be laterally controlled to traverse an under my invention.'

Referring" to .the drawings rhsvs ,used site numeral lll to desl'gnete.'f`a"^fiatelongtedretal vbase member having^its "co1"rlers` rounded."

The 'sidesof the fr on portions: me basemeynrbei l u lare-'slightly tapered toward; but "howto, the^ center .thereof to`for1ri"the' reduced 'forward Y peri-Sd"portin'isiburved upwardly. `as"`shdvvn inMFigl 2. A

` The numeral I2 'designates"an'eiorigated bar "member `having a "shoftportion "is gthrreofJ at the `fiona Ya'i'fi'steri tfuievrtieaifso th'stthewide passing through oneto'ftne Vholes I4 smiths' sys ls m thehook 15,ssjshownurig: 2; v

The"resi nd of uiebsrmemberi l z risw'eidedts theY longitudinal center "of 4,the upperY surface of the `baseAmeinberlll,at afpriiiiin'atelyl'ethisM base of the upwardly cved p'tin thereof and"v is also welded to the base member I0 at the point Where it rests upon the top edge of the front center portion Il, as shown in Fig. 2.

The numeral I8 designates a bearing member that is detachably vertically hingeably secured to the portion I3 of the bar member l2 by means of the bolt I9, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3. To the free upper end of the bearing member I8 I have welded a section of metal pipe 20 to serve as the portion of a handle and in Fig. 3 I show this handle with additional pipe sections detachably secured together by couplings 2l provided with studs 22 for facilitating the tightening or loosening thereof. On each section of `these handle pipes I provide an eye 23 by means of which the several handle extensions can be joined to a single safety cord, if desired. While I have used a sectional pipe arrangement for the handle in my drawings, this'device may be used by a longitudinally exible cable or the like secured to the member I3.

This invention is designed to facilitate and expedite the discovery and recovery of submerged objects andwhile recovering .human bodies was one of the main purposes motivating the creation of this device, it can be used for recovering a multitude of other objects by a variation in its size. l

This device may be used either from a bridge or the shore line but it is particularly of value when operated from a boat. Thedevice is placed in the water with the bottom of the base member down and will thereupon sink to the bottom by its own weight. Adjustment of the bearing member I8 on the portion I3 will adjustably lower or raise the hook relative to the normal operation ofthe device as a whole. Further adjustment of the hook position is possibleby arranging it on the bar member in any one v'of theholes III therein for any desired position.

This device is pulled through the water by means of the handle, cable or thelike with the wide surface of the base member normally riding the bottom of the river or lake. A twist or' th'ehandle clockwise Will cause the base portion to slide laterally to the left along the bottom and by twisting the handle counterclockwise the device Will move to the right. This results from the Water acting upon theV turned base portion as in `the case of a rudder. By this lateral controllable movement a wide area can be quickly covered.

Thejflat beaver tailf' base curved upwardly Vat its forward end, is the heartof the device. It

gives complete control of the 'device to the operator at all times. Besides lateral control, 'it vmay be turned upside down, and if the operator is in a moving boat, the action of the water will cause the complete'device to raise from the bottom of the water area to the surface of the water. Under normal conditions,'however, it'will sled on the water area bottom," riding over boulders, logs and the uneven water bottom, Vthereby successfully raising thehookover such unwanted obstructions. This characteristicof riding Vover unwanted obstructions is` due to the upwardly curved forward end portion of the base I0. The only part of the device capable of snagging on an object is the hook I5 and its position is above and forward 'of the portion I0 of the base.

By adjusting the angle of the bearing I8 to the portion I3, or by adjusting the hook along the length of the bar I2, the hook may be adjustably set relative to the rest of the device to the size of the object sought.

Smaller objects in theI isy unwanted objects, a wide water area may be quickly and easily searched. This is highly desirable in the recovery of bodies for if they are `not ,recovered with dispatch, they may well be permanently lost. This is especially true in rivers or like where the water is in motion.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my drag hook without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents `which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

l. Ina drag hook, an elongated flat base member curved upwardly at one end, a bar member secured toV that end of saidbase member that is curved upwardly and a hook member detachably and longitudinally adjustable on said bar member, and a manual control means secured to said bar member.

2. In a drag hook, a flat base member, an elongated bar member secured to said base member, a bearing member vertically adjustably secured to said elongated bar member, a hook member detachably secured to said elongated bar member, and longitudinally adjustable thereon and ya handle member secured to said bearing member.

3. In a drag hook, an elongated flat base member, a bar member secured to said base member, a hook member detachably and longitudinally adjustable onsaid bar member, and a manual control means secured vto said bar member.

KENNETH M. ROOKER.l

REFERENCES CITED TheV following references are of record in the lle of this patent: n

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

